Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Sells 13,044 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285,060 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 13,044 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.2% of Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $147,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IRON Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.6% in the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 14.0% in the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 4.3% during the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 285,163 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $147,700,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research raised their price objective on Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s massive $380B valuation highlights surging enterprise AI demand and validates Big Tech investments into advanced models; Microsoft participated in the funding round, which supports MSFT’s strategic AI ecosystem exposure and partnership optionality. Anthropic Valuation Hits $380 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Azure migrations and a large RPO backlog remain a durable revenue engine beneath the AI noise—steady SQL/server migrations and enterprise deals offer recurring, high-margin cash flows that cushion near-term AI capex pain. Why Microsoft’s Cloud Migrations Matter More Than Its AI Hype
• Positive Sentiment: Big infrastructure contracts (e.g., Microsoft deals referenced in infrastructure stories) and external financing for data-center partners de?risk MSFT’s ability to scale cloud capacity without immediate revenue shortfall—supportive for long-term cloud adoption. IREN Bounces Back
• Positive Sentiment: Technicals and contrarian calls: some analysts and option-flow commentators view the post?earnings selloff as a buying opportunity and charts show MSFT testing key support that could mark a base. That view can attract short-covering and value buyers. MSFT Price Forecast: Bottoming at Channel Support?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman’s prediction that many white?collar tasks could be automated in 12–18 months generates headline interest—this can boost AI adoption expectations but also stokes regulatory & labor concerns; impact on near-term earnings is unclear. Microsoft AI Chief Mustafa Suleyman Says Most Professional Tasks Will Be Fully Automated
• Neutral Sentiment: Security: Microsoft deployed patches for actively exploited Windows/Office zero?days—good for enterprise trust but the initial exploit headlines can be noisy for sentiment. Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs
• Negative Sentiment: Perception of underperformance vs. peers: headlines calling Microsoft the “worst?performing hyperscaler” since ChatGPT (and public criticisms from prominent investors) are pressuring sentiment and driving headline selling. This is amplifying short?term outflows. ‘Worst-Performing’ Hyperscaler
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional trimming and capex worries: several funds disclosed MSFT stake reductions and Street commentary highlights heavy AI capex that pressures free cash flow and prompted cautious guidance—this combination explains selling pressure and multiple compression. PRIMECAP Management Co cuts Microsoft stake Street Reassesses Microsoft Amid Azure Growth and Capex Concerns

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $401.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $462.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).